Muscle transposition and free muscle transfer in facial nerve reanimation

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This review highlights recent advances in facial reanimation surgery particularly related to muscle transposition and free functional muscle transfer (FFMT).

RECENT FINDINGS

FFMT and muscle transposition are mainstays in the treatment of chronic facial paralysis. Recent literature evaluates single versus dual innervated FFMT, reanimation of the periocular region and lower lip depressors, and indications for such methods over gold standard FFMT techniques. New donor sites for muscle transposition and FFMT are also described.

SUMMARY

Gracilis FFMT (GFMT) continues to be the gold standard in dynamic facial reanimation for patients with chronic facial paralysis. Muscle transposition should be considered in older patients, those medically unfit for long operative procedures, and individuals who prefer more immediate results. With respect to FFMT, described nerve coaptation patterns, surgical stages, and donor muscle choice vary. Standardization of data reporting and outcome measures is needed in future studies.

Immediate Free Fibula Flap After Maxillectomy With Simultaneous Full-arch Dental Implant-Supported Prosthetic Rehabilitation of the Midface and Mandible: The "Super Reconstruction Concept"

Immediate reconstruction and dental rehabilitation for ablative defects of the head and neck in one surgery is now a commonly used technique among reconstructive surgeons. Often patients are edentulous or partially edentulous in the jaw opposing that with pathology. In this case, only rehabilitating the dental arch affected by pathology would not render the patient with a functional occlusion. We introduce the "super reconstruction" concept which includes not only rehabilitating the dental arch affected by pathology but also the opposing arch, giving the patient a fully functional occlusion at the time of ablative surgery. This concept is described through a case of a patient with a T4aN0M0 squamous cell carcinoma of the maxilla who underwent total maxillectomy, immediate fibula flap reconstruction of the maxilla with, and full arch dental implant placement into the maxilla and opposing mandible with prosthetic rehabilitation.

Injection laryngoplasty during transoral laser microsurgery for early glottic cancer: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Transoral laser microsurgery is widely used for treating T1/T2 glottic cancers. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is commonly used in vocal cord augmentation. We investigated the impact of intra-operative injection laryngoplasty on voice outcomes in early glottic cancer.

METHODS

Twenty patients were randomized to the treatment group receiving HA injection to the vocal cord contralateral to the lesion; or the control group, receiving no injection. Patients had a Voice Handicap Index-10 (VHI-10) questionnaire and a Maximum Phonation Time (MPT) measurement preoperatively and at 3, 12 and 24 months post-operatively. Mean change in VHI-10 and MPT, compared to baseline and between time points, were compared. Survival estimates were calculated.

RESULTS

Mean VHI-10 scores improved over time amongst all patients. There were no changes in mean VHI-10 from pre-operative values to 3, 12 or 24 months post-operatively. There were no significant differences when comparing various timepoints between groups. There were no significant changes in MPT amongst the groups, or the time-points compared. Two-year overall survival was 91.7%; disease free survival was 80.9%; no difference in recurrence free survival was seen between the groups.

CONCLUSION

Subjective voice scores improved over time in both groups; there were no improvements in VHI-10 or MPT scores in the injection group, over control, at any time points. We saw no significant impact for intra-operative HA injection laryngoplasty on subjective or objective voice outcomes following surgery for early glottic cancers.

Patient and tumor factors contributing to distant metastasis in well-differentiated thyroid cancer: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Distant metastasis in thyroid cancer significantly reduces survival in patients with well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma (WDTC). There is limited information available to clinicians regarding pathological features that confer a higher risk of distant metastasis (DM). This study aimed to identify patient and tumor factors that were associated with the development of DM over time in patients with WDTC.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort analysis of patients with WDTC (n = 584) at our institution was performed between 2007 and 2017. A total of 39 patients with DM and 529 patients with no DM (NDM) were included. Patient demographics, tumor characteristics and patient survival were compared between the DM and NDM groups using a univariate analysis. Multivariate Cox-proportional hazards model was used to evaluate the risk of developing distant metastasis over time. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to compare survival between the DM and NDM groups.

RESULTS

Distant metastasis had a substantial impact on disease-specific survival (DSS) at 5 and 10-years in the DM group; 71.0% (SE 8.4%) and 46.9% (SE 11.6%) respectively, compared to 100% survival in the NDM group (p < 0.001). The DM group had significantly higher proportions of males, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), nodal metastasis (NM), large tumor size (TS), extrathyroidal extension (ETE), positive resection margins, multifocality, follicular thyroid cancer (FTC), tall cell variant of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), and Hurthle cell carcinoma (HCC), when compared to the NDM group (p < 0.05). A TS ≥ 2 cm (Hazard Ratio (HR) 1.370), NM (HR 3.806) and FTC (HR 7.068) were associated with a significantly increased hazard of developing distant metastasis in patients with WDTC.

CONCLUSIONS

TS ≥ 2 cm, NM and FTC are associated with a significantly increased propensity for developing DM in our cohort of WDTC patients.

A pain in the neck: Salmonella spp. as an unusual cause of a thyroid abscess. A case report and review of the literature

Background

Thyroid gland infections are rare. Their incidence is estimated to be less than 1% in immunocompromised hosts. Most common pathogens isolated are Gram positive aerobic cocci. Infections with Gram negative facultative aerobes such as Salmonella are rare.

Case presentation

A 55-year-old female with type II diabetes mellitus and a history of a colloid right thyroid lobe nodule presented with neck pain and fever. She was found to have a thyroid abscess 2 weeks following a non-specific diarrheal illness. A needle aspiration for symptomatic and diagnostic purposes was performed. Cultures grew Salmonella enterica serotype Heidelberg. She was treated with a 12-week course of oral antibiotics and serial aspiration.

Conclusion

A thyroid abscess is a rare occurrence; however, a high index of suspicion is required to make the diagnosis. The management is directed at minimizing morbidity. The mainstay treatment is medical, but surgery is sometimes necessary to achieve adequate source control, particularly when complications arise.

The role of repeat fine needle aspiration in managing indeterminate thyroid nodules

BACKGROUND

The Bethesda System is the most widely used for reporting fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology. It recommends a repeat FNA (rFNA) when initial results are category I or III. It is unclear how often rFNA provides additional diagnostic information. We sought to investigate its utility at our institution.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review was performed of patients who had a category I or III FNA result and underwent rFNA of the same thyroid nodule between 2013 and 2015 at the QE II Health Sciences Centre in Nova Scotia, Canada. Results of initial FNA and ultrasound characteristics, rFNA, demographic data, surgical details, and pathology were collected.

RESULTS

A total of 237 patients (474 thyroid FNAs) were included. Most initial FNAs were category I (82%), the remainder category III (18%). rFNA yielded a different category 60% of the time. However, 60% remained category I or III. rFNA results of benign or malignant were found in 40% of cases; 1% were SFN/SFM. Twenty-seven percent of patients had surgery after rFNA; of those 68% had category I or III rFNA results. Of all nodules that underwent surgery, 46% were malignant, including 32% with category I rFNA results, and 42% category III.

CONCLUSIONS

rFNA for category I and III nodules provided a definitive diagnosis in only 40% of cases, which is important for patient counseling. Malignancy rates at our centre were higher for these categories than predicted by Bethesda. Clinical management should consider institution specific malignancy rates, patient factors, and ultrasound findings.

Multifocal Papillary Thyroid Cancer Increases the Risk of Central Lymph Node Metastasis

BACKGROUND

Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is the most common thyroid malignancy, with a strong predilection for lymph node metastasis, most commonly to the central neck compartment (level VI). Few studies have evaluated lymph node metastasis in multifocal PTC, and the role of level VI dissection in the management of PTC remains controversial. This retrospective analysis evaluated the rate of level VI lymph node positivity in multifocal PTC, as compared with unifocal disease, in order to inform surgical decision making better.

METHODS

Patients with PTC who underwent total or hemi-thyroidectomy plus level VI lymph node dissection at the authors' institution between January 2008 and June 2014 were included (N=227). The number and laterality of PTC foci, lymphovascular invasion (LVI), extrathyroidal extension (ETE), and positive/total number of level VI lymph nodes were recorded. Fisher's exact test was used to determine univariate associations, and multivariate analysis was done by logistical regression.

RESULTS

There was an association between the number of PTC foci and level VI node positivity (p<0.001), with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.355 in patients with three or more tumor foci (p=0.026). The OR for central neck metastasis was 1.088 with each additional focus of PTC (p=0.018). The risk of level VI node positivity in the presence of one or two foci was only 19%, with no appreciable difference between one and two foci. This risk increased in the presence of between three and nine foci (38%), and 10 or more foci (88%). Level VI node positivity was associated with ETE (p<0.001), LVI (p<0.001), and size of the largest focus (p<0.001). There was no association between level VI lymph node positivity and male sex (p=0.089), bilaterality (p=0.276), or age (p=0.076).

CONCLUSIONS

There is a significant association between multifocal PTC and level VI lymph node positivity, increasing proportionally with the number of foci. These findings recognize multifocality as a sign of tumor aggressiveness, as evidenced by a higher propensity for lymph node metastasis.